Govt orders IndiGo to cut flights by 10% — over 200 daily services hit

Dubai: IndiGo, India’s largest airline, has been ordered to slash its operations by 10 per cent after days of massive disruptions that saw more than 2,000 flights cancelled, despite the carrier insisting that its services had stabilised.

With IndiGo operating roughly 2,200 flights a day, the curtailment effectively means over 200 daily cancellations until operations normalise.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation issued the directive on Wednesday after summoning IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers to review the crisis. The move marks the government’s strongest action yet following a week of public frustration, long delays, and mounting complaints from passengers nationwide.

“The ministry considers it necessary to curtail the overall IndiGo routes, which will help in stabilising the airline’s operations and lead to reduced cancellations,” IndiGo said in a statement on X, confirming the government’s order.

The airline added that despite the sharp reduction in daily departures, it would “continue to cover all destinations as before.”

The ministry has directed the carrier to fully comply with all instructions issued by aviation authorities, including:

IndiGo said it has already processed 100% of refunds for flights cancelled until December 6, while acknowledging that it was instructed to expedite all remaining refunds and baggage handovers.

Earlier in the day, IndiGo chief Pieter Elbers was called in by the Civil Aviation Ministry for an urgent briefing — a rare move that underscored the scale of the operational meltdown. Shortly before the meeting, Elbers posted on X claiming that IndiGo was “back on its feet” and thanked customers for their patience.

Civil Aviation Minister K. Ram Mohan Naidu later posted that the ministry had conducted a detailed review and decided on decisive action to restore stability and consumer confidence.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation had initially proposed a 5% reduction in IndiGo’s flights. But the ministry escalated the figure to 10%, with DGCA issuing a revised notification shortly afterward. The regulator has also issued show-cause notices to IndiGo’s senior leadership and has launched a formal investigation into the disruptions.

“Depending on the outcome, strict and appropriate action as empowered under the Aircraft Rules and Act will be taken,” Naidu told Parliament earlier.

IndiGo has maintained that its services have returned to normal, but passenger complaints and repeated cancellations over several days prompted government intervention. The operational crisis — one of the airline’s worst in recent years — also revived debate about crew planning, rostering, and systemic stress in India’s fast-growing aviation sector.

With the mandatory 10% cut now in place, the airline faces intense scrutiny as authorities push to restore stability before the holiday travel rush.